PURE RAGE
by sakka-no-himitsu
Summary: Happening before Charlie decides to get revenge on Locke through Sun, Charlie comes up with a plan with another. PROLOGUE&CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 UP!
1. Prologue::PURE RAGE

_Hey all! I was in my car and had random inspiration to right this fic, so I hope you guys enjoy. I plan to write at least 8 chapters (not including the prologue) and I hope to have one chapter finished everyday. So, I'm not promising anything but, I'll probably have Chapter 1 of this fic up tomorrow. I plan to get my ass into gear and write, write, write. _

_PURE RAGE- Prologue_

On the sandy dune Charlie had made a lonely home of, the moon shone brightly, highlighting the blond's face. It casted an eerie light on his boyishly cute features, transforming them into something other than innocence.

Bringing out the shadows under his eyes, the Earth's' neighbor magnified the general air of betrayal surrounding him, causing even the toughest person to shiver. Above the ugly bags under his eyes, his long eyelashes batted rapidly, dripping with tears. But these tears weren't tears of sadness, they were quite the opposite. No, these tears feel onto his face angrily, streaming down his cheeks with bitter remorse.

His eyes, under normal circumstances, would be happily dancing to and fro, nearly bore a hole into the ocean ahead- concentrating on an unknown idea. Brimming over with an intensity similar to a jagged knife, they continued to stay focused on that one spot on the ocean.

Under his eyes, a mixture of sickening colors marred his skin. These were the bruises which stung, even at the faintest touch, glowing oddly to foretell the madness to come. The madness of a broken heart; this was Charlie's twisted calling.

Wincing quietly as he wiped away his tears, he stood up, lifting his newly wetted hands up to his eyes. His hands shook and twitched insanely under his gaze, his fingernails lined with dirt and grime. As he watched his hands tremble, Charlie seethed with an an emotion which was quite new to him-

PURE RAGE.


	2. Chapter 1::SEED

_Yes! I actually finished Chapter 1 in one day as I said I would! Wohoo for me. Lol. Anyway, there is one scene in here from the actual episode, but it isn't exactly how it happened. Close enough. I will try and have one chapter per day as I said I would before. Please R&R and Enjoy! _

Confused to find himself waking up on a sandy dune, Charlie suddenly remembered lying down on it the night before, and sighed. He sat up, trying hard to wipe off the gritty bits of sand covering his clothes, but found that it was a lot harder than it looked. Along with it being all over his clothes, it was in his shoes and he could even taste it. The blond tried spitting it out of his mouth, his teeth grinding briefly against the tiny specks, but he wasn't able to get it out of his mouth.

Coughing, he let his hands sink into the sand in front of him, his eyes narrowing as he was hit by a flashback of a scene he wanted so badly to forget. The nasty, filthy taste distinctly made him think of the night he had his first taste of the grainy substance. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter though, oh definitely not. On that night, he had unfortunately been caught by not only Claire, but Locke and the rest of the bloody island trying to baptize Aaron.

Recalling back to that scene, his eyes seemed to glaze over like a madman's, as if even thinking of it caused him to feel extreme hate. The hands, which were once falling deeper into the sandy hole, crept up to his face, covering his cheeks and eyes. He sighed, wanting desperately to erase those memories, but begrudgingly let them take over for a few minutes.

_It was a fairly clear, fair night when the series of dreadful events happened to Charlie. The moon beamed from the starry sky like a newborn babe from above, cascading it's ethereal light over most of the island's inhabitants. Fortunately for him, the moon didn't shed enough of it's light over the part of the island he was concerned with, and he considered this one of his few blessings. Pulling his infamous black hoodie over his blond locks, he glanced around, checking to make sure none were in too close vicinity. If he was going to do this, he had to make sure everything was in it's proper place, or else he would be in dire trouble. _

_He snuck around to hide behind a large rock close to Aaron's crib, his eyes still searching for any possible threats to his plan of action. Giving one final look around the area before walking almost soundlessly to the crib, his gaze nearly caught Claire's- but thankfully didn't, her's landing on the sandy beaches instead. Claire stood there laughing with Sun as Charlie crouched low, her smile causing Charlie to feel a twinge of pain in his heart. Sighing, he tried his best to ignore her, telling himself that he needed to hurry up. He crept up to the sleeping baby, fondly smiling down at him as he dangled a hand down over him. _

_"Hey there turniphead, how's it going," he sheepishly whispered, his eyes twinkling happily in the presence of Aaron. The baby awoke at the sound of Charlie's soft voice, opening his eyes to stare silently up at him. _

_Picking the baby up, he looked to and fro one final time before heading for the ocean, trying his best to not arouse suspicion around him. But no one seemed to notice the absence of the baby boy, and Charlie let out a small sigh of joy. Nestling Aaron's little face with the blanket, he tilted his head up to the sky, his eyes now filled with the black sky. He peered back down at Aaron once again, his legs walking fast towards the silently noisy ocean. _

_The ocean roared and gurgled as he approached with Aaron, as if it was giving Charlie a warning to stay clear of it's dark waters. Ignoring the sound, he started to lean over to catch a splash with a a cupped hand, but was stopped by a sudden yell. _

_"Charlie! What are you doing with my baby!" _

_He turned at the sound of Claire's voice, cursing himself secretly. He should have known that being able to baptize Aaron by himself would be too much to ask for. So much for the blessings. _

_"Claire.. I was just... listen, something bad is going to happen to Aaron," he began, trying his hardest to sound convincing._

_"Give him back to me, right now," she screamed in response, a few angry tears running down her face. _

"_... I was just trying to baptize him..." he muttered to himself, handing back the now wailing boy to Claire. _

_"Don't you ever come near him again," she shouted, ending their argument as she reached out to slap Charlie hard on the face. _

_Feeling the sting of the slap, Charlie winced, but not from physical pain- from emotional pain. The girl that he had grown to love as a person, the girl he had sworn to change for- didn't want anything to do with him anymore. She had said it before, but it rang all too true right now. _

_As Claire ran off in a bout of anger, a crowd of people approached Charlie, whispering and mumbling secretly to try and figure out what was going on. But the person Charlie noticed the most out of the bunch, was Locke. _

_He stood there, arms crossed over his chest, frowning at Charlie, as if he was the only one responsible for the other's actions. The scar directly above and below his eye was magnified by the moonbeams, looking almost as though it had been created only a few seconds ago. _

_Preparing himself for a lecture, Charlie cocked his head and gazed back at the older man, already guessing at what he would be lectured on. But to his dismay, Locke, instead of giving him verbal punishment, gave him the physical kind. Locke came forward, punching Charlie square in the jaw, and then another time right below the eye. _

_Falling back from the sudden blows, Charlie fell to the ground, looking up to see not only the disapproving face of Locke, but everyone he had tried to befriend on the island. Even Hurley was there, staring at him as though he was an enemy. Of course, through the eyes of the people on the island, it appeared Charlie was trying to hurt the baby, or worse. Before, ever since the word had gone through the grapevine about how he had lied to Claire about his drug usage, people decided to form their own judgements about him. Worse than that, it wasn't the first time he had taken the baby without Claire's knowledge, so that certainly didn't help his case in the least. _

_After a few agonizing moments of staring, the islanders dispersed, some of them shaking their heads in shame or maybe even anger. He watched them leave, hearing the ocean still churning frantically behind him. _

_Still lying on his back on the sand, he didn't bother to even wipe the blood from his face off, feeling too humiliated and betrayed to move. Now all that he had loved, all that he had cherished- was gone. He stared up at the sky above him, a single tear trickling down his face. The fat tear rolled down his chin and fell onto the sand, not even making one single spot. _

_Smacking his lips, he became aware of the tiny specks of sand in his mouth, causing him to watch to retch. He shakily stood up, still not cleaning himself, and let out a low moan of pitiful agony._

As soon as his painful flashback ended, Charlie pushed himself up off of the sand, the bitter taste still lingering in his mouth. He sighed, looking around him, and noticed that except for a small speck of a person in the distance, he was alone.

Taking a slow, deep breath, he felt better knowing that no one was around to give him those dirty looks he had become so accustomed to lately. He brought a greasy hand up to his hair, raking it through the messy strands as he decided on what to do. Suddenly coming up with an idea, he nodded to himself, raising a hand up to shield his eyes from the bright sun. The sun beat down on him, causing more than just one trickle of sweat to drip down his neck, staining the back of his T-shirt. He could care less that it was hot though, better to be hot out in the open than have to deal with sharing shade with another person.

Starting towards his destination, he picked up his speed, going from his normal walking pace to a jog. If he wanted to get this awful sandy taste out of his mouth, he had better hurry up. He watched the edge of the jungle loom towards him, as if the jungle was calling him to come forth and see what it had to offer. Tall trees swayed in the slight breeze, the branches moving back and forth from the air circulation. Just beyond the trees, Charlie knew there was not only a stream, but a tree that he could pick fruits off of.

He jogged faster, sticking out his tongue in slight concentration as he always did when he was really intent on something, and came to the needed path into the jungle. As soon as he reached this path, he heard a strange sounding bird singing, but not a pleasant song in the least. The songs sounded horribly off-key and minor- like an old broken record of an out of tune classical piano bit. Shivers raced down Charlie's spine briefly as he listened, giving him somewhat of an uneasy feeling.

But, he shrugged it off and headed down the path, really wanting to fill his mouth with something other than boar or mangos. He wasn't quite sure if the tree had mangos or not, but he would make do regardless of the fruit. Coming to the stream, he stopped next to it, bending down to wash his face. The cool water felt delightfully wonderful against his dry skin, perking up his angst filled mood a tad. After he washed his face and took a big sip of water from the stream, he watched the water flowing east into the jungle. It made lovely little patterns as it ran it's course, bubbling every now and then with content.

Standing back up, Charlie's eyes landed on the tree he wanted the fruit from. He gave the tree somewhat of a devilish grin before trying to make his way up it, holding onto various branches to get to the fruits. Making his way up, he realized that the fruits really weren't mangos, but something all together different instead.

Too impatient to climb back down to have a bite, he yanked one of the fruits from the tree and took a nice, juicy bite of it. Saliva ran down his neck as he began eating it, thinking it tasted a whole hell of a lot better than mangos or boar. The fruit reminded him a little bit of oranges and apples mixed together, sweet and yet kind of nectar in flavor. Still chomping into the food, Charlie couldn't help but let his mind wander back to what he moped about a few minutes ago and he narrowed his eyes.

If anything, he wanted to do something the conundrum he was in, but what? He couldn't exactly just waltz up to Claire as though nothing had happened, but he couldn't just stand by and watch his friend without him by her side. Chewing on the fruit, he started to think that maybe he could get someone else to persuade him that he was truly sorry. Who would do that for him? After the looks that everyone had given him last night, he doubted anyone would help him.

Coming to the last few bites of the fruit, he began to slow down his eating, wanting to savor the last of it. He didn't know how long it would be until someone else discovered this new fruit, and he wanted it to himself for now. Letting a good chunk of his last bite linger in his mouth, he began to think that maybe befriending Claire again wasn't going to happen anytime soon. They said that time would heal all, right? So, Charlie's mind wandered aimlessly through the couple of possibilities he thought of, trying to choose between them.

He could either be nice and not do anything, or he could take matters into his own hand. Besides Claire, he had someone else in mind. If it wasn't for Locke, he would have never felt so stupid in front of everyone, bleeding and down on his back like a big idiot.

Chomping down again on the fruit, he grinded the last part of it down with his teeth, savoring the last taste. The sandy taste no longer filled his mouth, but instead this succulent one did. A sweet, almost too sweet treat that he had given himself, kind of like the one he now plotted to give to Locke.

But how would he seek revenge against him? He had never really been the kind of guy to seek revenge on anyone, so this was a new thing. As he climbed down the tree, his mind sorted through a group of people, finally coming to one. If anyone knew how to have revenge, it was this person.

He made his way down the same path he had come into the jungle with, feeling refreshed from the mini trip into the jungle. Going away from the jungle, he saw in the distance the tent that he wanted to go into. He turned around, walking backwards for a second to see the landscape change from that angle, and almost ran right into the person he wanted to talk with.

"Oh hey," he said, a wolfish grin on his face.


	3. Chapter 2::IMPLANTATION

_Haha, this chapter was really fun to write because of all the Sawyer-Charlie interactions. Hehe. He's so damn witty. Anyway, sorry I didn't have it up technically yesterday, but it's up now. So.. it's only missing 40 minutes by tomorrow anyway lol. I had a good friend in town anyway, so I have an excuse. Lol. I'll try to have Chapter 3 up tomorrow as well! Please R&R! Enjoy!_

"Whoa there Checkers, don't knock me over with your bout of enthusiasm," Sawyer said in response, his face lit up with cocky sarcasm. Tilting his head to his side in his usual way, the southerner raised an eyebrow and wondered why Charlie looked so… eager.

"Why you lookin' so eager there, you find Willy Wonka's golden ticket," he asked with a smirk, shoving his hands into his pocket to find a cigarette.

"Look Sawyer… I gotta talk to you about something," Charlie began, his hands coming up to shake once to emphasize his need, "It's important."

Lighting his cigarette, Sawyer waited for a few seconds before answering, bringing the stick of nicotine up to his lips. He inhaled, still peering down at Charlie with curiosity, and finally exhaled. A whirl of smoke came out of his mouth, whirling around the other's head, like a smokey halo.

"Why you comin' to me with somethin' important. Don't you know I can't keep secrets," he replied with a wry grin, his cigarette perched between his pointer and middle finger. Taking another drag, Sawyer's eyes narrowed and he waited for Charlie to say something.

"Because I need your help... look, just listen to me," the blond pleaded, giving Sawyer a long glance of desperation. Sighing, he kicked the ground, impatient with waiting. Why couldn't Sawyer just listen for once instead of spouting off off-colored comments?

"My help? Why do you need my help? Heh, I think you're lookin' for the wrong person Chuckles," Sawyer said, the end of his cigarette burning strongly before going out. He let it fall to the ground, crushing it with his boot as he began to walk away.

"Nono, please Sawyer..." Charlie shouted, rushing up to the other. Circling around Sawyer so that he was right in Sawyer's escape path, he put up his hand, waving it like a runway assistant waved down a plane that wanted to land off of the runway strip.

"...Fine," Sawyer said, lowering his voice to a quiet tone. There was something extremely desperate in Charlie's voice that Sawyer picked up on, something… almost unnatural. And for that very reason, Sawyer mentally decided to accept the challenge. He started to walk towards the jungle, but motioned for Charlie to follow him, figuring that he didn't want anyone else to hear. Now if he was going to come to _him, _for help, then whatever it was had to be shady.

Charlie, relieved that Sawyer had decided to at least listen to him, walked almost next to the other, a small smile on his face. If he could just explain to him the situation, maybe Sawyer could offer some ideas. He didn't know Sawyer very well at all, but he did know Sawyer was smarter than he let on.

The jungle, now only a few yards away, seemed to be as full of life as ever- letting off sounds of boars, birds and God only knows what else. Instead of the tree's swaying back and forth like they had only half an hour ago, they stood completely still. Not a tree moved as the two entered it, upright and erect like silent sentinels that guarded a castle full of hidden treasures.

Letting Sawyer lead the way still, Charlie fell into the rhythm of the jungle, his feet hitting the ground in time with a nearby woodpecker. He looked around, wondering where on Earth Sawyer was leading them to, but trusting the other to know a place where no one could find them. At least that's what Charlie though Sawyer was doing.

"Yo Checkers, you can stop now," Sawyer said, leaning up against a tree. Around them, a circle of six trees surrounded them, as if nature had intended for this meeting to happen someday. But, the trees didn't appear to be the average, healthy tree the two had seen before coming to this spot. At a quick glance, they seemed pretty normal- dark brown bark, really tall and green leaves. If one took a better look however, one would notice the huge, spots of funky mold growing on them. The mold grew rampant on the trees, spotting them like an infectious plague.

"Ew, what the bloody hell is that on the trees," Charlie asked, his nostrils flaring in disgust. Along with the weird appearance, the trees smelled awful, like death.

"Ain't you ever seen fungus before?" Sawyer said, laughing at the other's response to the place he had taken them.

"Too bad Mister Clean isn't around to make them trees all nice and pretty," he continued, sitting down on a stomp in the middle of the circle. Eyeing Charlie, he motioned for him to sit down next to him on a rock, petting it.

"Alrighty Checkers, I'm all ears," he said, the dimples on his cheeks really apparent now.

"Okay… you remember when I took Aaron that one night because I thought he was in danger," he began, semi-closing his eyes to remember everything correctly.

"Yeah, ol' baldy sure got you good that night," Sawyer replied, chuckling to himself.

"Yeah, whatever man, anyway- I was in a real bad state of mind after that. I felt real bad and..-"

"Okay Chuckles, I'm not no quack, so don't come to me with your problems," Sawyer interupted, shaking his head. If that were all he came out here for, he'd be outta there in a jiffy.

"No no, stop bloody interrupting, that's not the point. Anyway, yeah- Locke did punch me real hard, and I hated that. He humiliated me in front of everyone like he was some damn God and I want to get back at him," he explained, the anger he had experienced on that one night resurfacing all over again. He clenched his fists tightly, feeling like beating the crap out of Locke right then and there.

"Oh I see, you want _me_ to give you a plan," Sawyer said, another one of his infamous smirks plastered on his face. "I see."

Before Charlie could answer, Sawyer suddenly stood up, walking out of the rotting circle of trees and going a few feet ahead of them.

"C'mere Charlie, I have something to show you," he said, pointing to a big, dark blob in the distance.

"Hey, you never said if you would help or not," the blond protested, a frown on his face. He had to have known that Sawyer would beat around the bush instead of giving him a straight up no or yes. Crossing his arms over his chest, he made his way out of the circle of trees as well, standing next to the other now.

"What is it," he asked, squinting his eyes trying to see it clearly. From there, it just looked like a darkened lava rock of some sort, nothing extremely special. But if Charlie moved up a couple of inches, he could see that it definitely wasn't a rock.

"It's a dead boar. Ol' feller died yesterday," Sawyer explained, now on his way up to the dead beast. He parted two twig like trees and stepped in the middle of them to get to the boar, holding them open for Charlie to come as well.

The blond rolled his eyes, thinking that Sawyer really was full of it now, and wondered if he was ever going to get the answer he wanted. Half-hopping through the trees, he scratched his face on a spiny tree limb, biting his lip in pain. A bit of blood trickled down his face, but Charlie didn't notice, now standing beside Sawyer and the boar.

The boar, although it was dead, was in a weird kneeling position, as if it begged a Supreme Being to let it into its heaven. It had a huge gash down its back, which still trickled with blood, exposing a huge hunk of muscle and it's spine to the rest of the world. Matted and seemingly sweaty, it's fur lay still and lifeless to the slimy maggots which infested its space. Other than the strange position the boar lay dead in, Charlie couldn't figure see anything special about this beast.

"Why'd you want me to see that? It's dead," Charlie stated matter-of-factly, his eyes still planted on the boar.

"Yer missin' the point Checkers, look at it's head," Sawyer ordered, stepping up to be a bit closer to the boar.

Raising an eyebrow, he obeyed, moving his eyesight from the boar's bloody back to the head. He opened his mouth in a small "O" shape as he noticed what Sawyer had sometime before, almost creeped out by what he saw. Sitting on the boar's head, a crown of thorns sat there, reminding Charlie of Jesus. The crown, encircled around the boar's head, had tiny leaves and berries still stuck to it. It was a golden, brown color and almost matched the color of the path of Earth upon which the boar had its final moments.

"How the hell did that get there," Charlie remarked, placing a hand on his hip in question.

"Someone must've put it there. You see Charlie, this boar must have felt mighty special with this crown on top of his head. Probably felt like a regular ol' King of the Jungle. But, without the crown," Sawyer explained, kneeling over to lift the crown off, "It isn't anything special anymore."

Realizing what Sawyer meant by this, Charlie nodded rapidly, the whole meaning of this little side adventure becoming clear.

"So if I find something that makes Locke feel special and take it away, he'll feel real stupid and average, like this boar?"

In answer, Sawyer placed the crown on his head, making real damn sure that it didn't prick him by not putting it all the way down.

"Yep- and better yet, if you give it to someone else..." he insinuated, pointing to the crown on top of his head, "He'll feel even more like an idiot."

Charlie's grin began to grow as he stared at the said crown on Sawyer's head, knowing that if he could humiliate Locke, that he would have his revenge.

"So you're gonna help me, right?" he asked, hoping the other would answer okay.

"Sure, but what's in it for me?"


	4. Chapter 3::GROWTH

_Whew, Chapter 3 is completed now. I should have Chapter 4 up tomorrow and so forth. Please R&R! Enjoy! _

"What's in it for you," Charlie repeated, a quizzical look on his face. Why, he'd thought Sawyer would do it out of the… well, wait a second. Goodness of his heart? Shaking his head, the blond remembered how Sawyer never did anything (that he noticed) out of the _goodness _of his heart.

"Yeah, I ain't doin' nothin for free." Sawyer, the crown still on his head, picked up a nearby twig and began to poke the dead boar, turning it over onto his back. The boar's stomach appeared to be in tip top shape unlike the animal's back, and even had a glossy coat of _unmatted_ fur.

"Whatta ya think happened to this here guy? Ya think the boars have a tourney cup each year to see who's the biggest and baddest of all em'," he asked playfully, giving the boar a solid kick in the rear. As soon as he did that however, the boar barely twitched, seeming like it fought the deathly grips of the afterlife.

Sawyer jumped back, gasping a little at the sudden movement from the animal and glared at it.

"What the hell was that? Did you see that Checkers," the southerner said, his eyes wild and frightened.

"What the hell was what? No, I didn't see it," Charlie said, glancing down at the boar one final time.

"It nearly came back to life. Damn, here I thought it was gone for good," Sawyer replied with a sly grin.

"...Are you seeing things? That boar can't come back to life." Giving the boar one hard stare before facing away from it, he furrowed his eyebrows and thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A tall, distant figure stood on the edge of his eyesight, and Charlie started to say something. However, what he thought could be an Other, was only a stream of blood dripping down his forehead. He bit his tongue in dismay, not recalling having scratched himself. Reaching up, he wiped the blood off of his face, opening his mouth to talk to Sawyer again.

"I can't think of anything to give to you man, couldn't you just help me anyway," he asked, the same desperate look Sawyer had seen minutes before reappearing.

"No, either you think of somethin' or I'm out," Sawyer said, stepping away from the boar. The boar hadn't moved again since Sawyer had touched it, almost as if it convulsed just for the sake of scaring him. It wasn't as if this hadn't occured before however, so it was no surprise to him at all. Still, the animal had twitched in such a way, that it couldn't have done it for any other reason than to freak him out of course.

"Alright..." Charlie said in a slightly depressed tone of voice, sighing softly to himself. If he couldn't think of an ultimatum for Sawyer, he probably wouldn't be able to construe a plan on his own. Feeling downtrodden from Sawyer's answer, he said his goodbye to Sawyer and the jungle. He needed to go and think alone anyway.

"Okay. I'm going back to camp, see ya later man," he said, waving halfheartedly at the other.

"Okie doke Checkers."

And with that, the blond walked back through the circle of trees they had come to, a shiver racing down his spine as he looked at the rotting spots on the trees again. The wind began to pick up when he found his way back to the path, causing his hair to lift up and down with it. He groaned, knowing that if the wind messed up his hair, there was no hope for it today. Trying to brush his hair back into its original style with his fingers, he trod quickly down the path and out of the jungle.

It was high noon when he made it back and one hell of a scorcher of a day it was. The sun, as high up in the sky as it could possibly get, pressed its hot rays onto anyone and everyone who was in its site. Unlike the jungle, on the beach there was literally no breeze at all and the air around felt extremely heavy with heat. The sand felt painfully warm under one's bare feet, daring one to tread on its hellish body for any more than a few seconds. Frowning even harder as he felt the familiar squish of the sand below him, Charlie found the same sandy dune he had slept on before and sat back down on it.

He blankly watched the waves splash onto the shore in front of him, his mind reconsidering the plan to seek revenge. He didn't even have a real plan as of yet, and wasn't even sure if he had the courage and heart of steel to go through with it. Sure Locke deserved something bad to happen to him in Charlie's mind, but he never thought of being Karma himself until earlier that day. If he did indeed choose to go through with it, what would happen afterwards? Would everything go on as normal or would something go array? What if someone found out and told Locke? Then, Claire would find out and Charlie would really be screwed.

Then again, hadn't Locke embarrassed and ridiculed him in front of nearly every damn person on the island last night? Hadn't he felt betrayed and worst of all like a stupid schoolboy? Locke never had to go on and punch him like that, he could have approached him privately. But he didn't, giving him not only physical damage but mental damage as well. Now whenever he went anywhere, he could sense everyone (even those who didn't witness the event) glaring at him, judging him as every second passed.

Groaning with utter confusion, he almost decided to back down on the plan, when he heard a voice. Not just any voice, _Locke's _voice. Turning around, he saw the bald man talking with Claire, gathering seashells by the ocean. Charlie ducked down, not wanting or _needing_ either one of them to see him. Staying down low, no one could see him anyway, so he was safe.

"Charlie is in a bad place right now and it's a good thing you won't let him be around Aaron. It would be a horrible influence," Locke began, leaning over to pick up a seashell. He handed it to Claire with a smile, like he was handing her a wedding band.

Claire nodded to him, not saying anything in response, and cradled Aaron in her arms. The babe let out a giant wail all of the sudden, and Claire gave the baby to Locke.

Locke smiled again, this time at Aaron, and somehow ended up getting the baby to stop crying.

"Besides, Aaron needs people who care about him- not people who would only hurt him." Locke continued to hold the baby, reaching down to wiggle a playful finger in front of his face.

Charlie narrowed his eyes in disgust at this last comment, the anger that he had momentarily forgotten about returning full force. His heart immediately began to pound in his chest, pumping blood to his body like crazy now. Who did Locke think he was? Claire's new best friend? Punching a fist down hard into the sand, the blond suddenly stood up and began to run towards the jungle again.

Tears streamed down his face as he ran towards a familiar safe haven, covering the neckline of his T-shirt. He wept not out of sadness, but frustration, his legs pumping up and down fiercely in order to escape the scene. Reaching the outmost edge of the forest, Charlie stopped to catch his breath.

For some reason, whenever he tapped into his anger towards Locke, he felt the overwhelming need to go back to the jungle. It called to him like some sort of a sick, twisted desire. Continuing with his escape, he entered the forest, his face stained with dried tears. He found a random log to sit down on and sighed.

Cupping his hands in his face, he let the anger overpower his senses, causing his hands to spasm uncontrollably. He gritted together his teeth, the grinding sound momentarily blocking out the pounding of his heart. Digging his fingernails into his face, he replayed Locke punching him over and over again- until it was _more_ than permanently ingrained in his mind. He stood up, giving the log a brutal kick before exiting the jungle once again.

Coming out of the trees, he made his decision. He was no longer confused about the issue, but crystal clear on what he needed to do.


	5. Chapter 4::SEEDLING

_Yay! Chapter 4 is up. I actually wrote this earlier in the day today (in the afternoon), but I waited until now since I like to make readers have lots of anticipation. Bwahahaha. Anyway hope you enjoy and please R&R! _

"Hey Sawyer," Charlie shouted, waving down Sawyer from about ten feet away. Sawyer turned around, about to say something mean, but realized who it was and didn't.

"Hey Checkers, ya back for more already," the southerner commented, smiling stupidly at the other.

"Yeah, I came up with a plan, I think if we-," he started, but abruptly stopped as Sawyer began to make a cutting motion to his own throat. Raising an eyebrow, he began to say something, but didn't, his eyes landing on Jack a few feet away.

"Oh."

"Come on Checkers- let's go play some poker in my tent," Sawyer said, eyeing the doctor suspiciously. He nodded and started heading towards his tent, waiting for Charlie to follow. Charlie quickly headed after him, doing a double take of Jack's position before sighing. Boy that was a close one.

Sawyer approached his tent and opened the flap, gesturing for Charlie to enter.

"Come on into Sawyer's Hotel-rama. It'll be $400 a night son," Sawyer joked, chuckling to himself.

Smirking, Charlie didn't say anything and stepped inside. The inside of the other's tent looked fairly clean for a "beach front" bachelor pad, resembling the inside of a tent in one of those Sear's catalogs. He glanced around, seeing books lined against the tent walls, surprised to find so many. He knew Sawyer had salvaged quite a collection, but he didn't know his collection consisted of over twenty books.

Next to the books, bags and bags of stolen goods (courtesy of the survivors) lay opened. The bags had everything from clothes to CD players in them, and Charlie grinned. If Sawyer had so much stuff, he wouldn't mind if he took a few things, would he? Leaning over to pick up a shiny necklace, he began to put it on.

"Hey hey, put away those sticky fingers. You ain't takin' nothin'," Sawyer belt out, now inside the tent. He narrowed his eyes at the blond, giving him a nonverbal warning. Charlie sighed, putting the necklace back and sat down on a blanket. It really stunk how Sawyer didn't and _wouldn't_ share.

"You like the place," Sawyer asked, flipping through his recent book to find the page he was at.

"Yeah, it's alright man. You have so much bloody stuff. Why the hell do you still have all this," Charlie replied as he curled his legs up to his chin.

"Cause I found em'. You know my policy- finders keepers, losers weepers." Now with his eyes glued to his book, Sawyer began to read, as if Charlie wasn't even there.

Charlie watched Sawyer read his eyes back to wandering the place. Touching the nail marks he had made with in a bout of anger in the jungle, he wondered if the other had any of his stuff, but didn't get up to look. He hadn't come here for luggage anyway.

"Alright man… hey, you listenin'," he began, seeing that Sawyer was still reading.

"Of course I'm listenin' Chuckles. Doncha know that I'm the best multitasker in the world," Sawyer said in response, leaning over to grab a pair of reading glasses he had taken as well. He had several pairs of reading glasses, but this pair had leopard print.

"Okay... I think I know what we're going to do. You know how there's a locked room in the hatch," he asked, still staring at the baggage in Sawyer's tent.

"Yeah... hold onto that thought Checkers, I'm gettin' to the good part," Sawyer interrupted, raising the book closer to his face. He smiled with not so secret glee as he read over a couple of paragraphs, finally turning the page.

"Look, if you're not going to take me seriously, I'm out of here," Charlie growled, already annoyed that Sawyer paid more attention to the book than him. He should have known Sawyer would act as though his plan wasn't important.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch Checkers, can't a man read his book for a second," Sawyer said back, his eyes gleaming with amusement. Understanding that Charlie's threat to leave seemed real enough, he folded down the corner of his current page and closed the book.

"Alrighty then, what's this about the holy hatch," the southerner asked, cocking his eyebrow as he put the book into a green backpack.

"Okay, so there's a safe in it right. I know that only Jack and Locke know the combination, so how about you find out what it is? Then, after you find out what it is- you can make up a lie about Locke and tell it to Jack, and then leave the changed combination where Jack would only find it. Then, because of the horrible lie you told him about Locke, Jack wouldn't trust him anymore and not let Locke into it," Charlie finished, waving his hands about in excitement. If they could make this work, then Locke would really feel left out and powerless.

"Why the hell should I give the combination to ol' Jack-o? He don't deserve to think that he's a king or somethin', with being the only one with the numbers," Sawyer retorted back, a flash of anger and resentment flickering across his face when he mentioned Jack's nickname.

"Well, because then Locke wouldn't be able to get into the locked room because Jack wouldn't trust him," Charlie repeated, thinking that Sawyer didn't understand.

"Checkers, even if I did that, what would I get out of it? I don't even think the Doc would trust what I'd tell him about Locke anyway." He shook his head, not liking the plan.

"Oh yeah...," Charlie said in a disappointed voice, forgetting how Sawyer wanted something out of it. He needed to figure out what to give him in the first place for helping him... but what?

"I got a better idea Checkers, how bout I find out the combination, not change it- but take somethin' out of it," Sawyer suggested, lighting a cigarette as he smoke.

"Yeah, but what? I don't know what Locke values that is in there..," he mumbled, the hopeless feeling once again washing over him. What if all of this had been for nothing?

"Wait a tick, Mr. Clean and The Good Saint put the guns in the room. I could go in there and take em'. Then neither one of them would have em'," Sawyer said with a satisfied look on his face, envisioning the look on Jack's face when neither one of them could find the guns.

"Yeah! Good idea mate," Charlie almost shouted with a grin, having to contain his excitement. He certainly didn't want anyone to hear him in there. Then people would begin to talk...

"And I know just what you can give me in return for my services. The guns," Sawyer said, knowing that Charlie would probably agree to let him keep them. Besides, it wasn't like he wanted to have them

for any other reason other than the simple fact of adding them to his stash of goods.

"The guns? Why the hell-," he started, but decided to just agree, needing Sawyer to help him on his. "Fine, just don't be stupid with them," he finished, not wanting to know that he was the reason Sawyer went out in the jungle trying to kill every single boar just for the hell of it. He remembered the whole boar incident, what with Kate telling him one time, and didn't want something worse than _that_ to happen.

"Stupid? Oh Checkers, don't be mean. That's my job. I'll be the best keeper of the guns on this hunk of rock you've ever seen," Sawyer said, stretching out his back by twisting his torso back and forth.

"Right. Anyway, how are you going to do that? Isn't someone always on hatch duty every bloody hour of the day," he asked, not seeing how the other would pull this off.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head. Sawyer's got it all under control," the southerner said quietly, winking at Charlie before reaching back into his backpack for his book.

"Yeah? How," Charlie asked, signs of anticipation written all over his body language.

"Shh. I got an adventure to get back to," he said, tapping the book with his finger, "but I'll tell ya after I finish." Going back to his reading, he put his reading glasses back on, a cheeky smile on his face as he read.

"Finish? When will that be? Oh nevermind, I'll just come back at sundown. Will ya be finished then?"

"Sure. I'll even bring some flowers for ya too," Sawyer joked, finding it funny that Charlie wanted to find out so soon. "Meet me in front of your little sandy home. I'll be there," he finished, cueing Charlie to exit with a wave of his hand.

Nodding, Charlie exited the tent, his mind trying to come up with the answer to his question. Would Sawyer distract his hatch duty partner and do it then? Would he drug both Locke and Jack while they were on hatch duty and sneak in?

About to reach his sand hill, Charlie came up with even more possibilities, his mind racing like crazy. He began to go up it, catching site of Locke once again. Grinning mischievously to himself, he let the rage course through him once again, feeling pleasure from the rush.

Locke would pay big time.


	6. Chapter 5::STEM

_Hey guys! So sorry I didn't update yesterday like I planned, got backtracked with homework and the like. But never fear, I'm here again! Hope you like this chapter 3. I'm thinking that this fanfic might be longer than 8 chapters because of what I've been planning in my head, but we'll see. Please R&R and Enjoy! _

Walking back from Sawyer's tent, Charlie's angry mood skyrocketed as he made his way back, almost as if it was prepping him for the events to come. He looped around various survivors' tents, hoping not to run into anyone. Not that anyone would talk to him anyway, after what had happened.

But, even though he avoided several people, still they saw him, giving him hesitant looks before turning away. They talked amongst themselves, loudly even, not even caring if Charlie heard them or not. One couple of people, a woman and man who he recognized but couldn't put names to, didn't even bother to distance themselves from him as they gossiped. The man began speaking very loudly to the woman, raising his voice as Charlie sped up his pace.

"Yeah, it's disgusting how he did that. How could he just take a nearly newborn child like that?"

"I know, I'm just glad I don't have a baby that he could have stolen from me. What a creep."

Hearing them speak of him so, he hurried along even faster, trying to escape the tension in the air. A small breeze picked up and shot across the skin of his face, running across cracked, peeling bits of skin. He put his fingers up to his face, touching one thin slab of dead skin, and grunted in disgust. From spending so much time out in the sun and close to the sand, nature seemed to want to wear and tear away his boyishly good looks, another part of his life against him.

Once out of earshot of the people on the beach, he gritted his teeth loudly together, trying his hardest to concentrate on the irritating sound instead of the people. Although the talkers hadn't done anything to him, he certainly felt like giving them a piece of his mind. He didn't though, his fists in tight balls, fingers clenched hard against his skin, almost pulsating with a mixture of emotions. Reaching his sandy hill, he crumpled to the ground, knees first as if he was about to pray.

He didn't pray, but instead knelt there, a trace of hate growing on his face. Turning to look up into the sky, the sun touched his face once more before disappearing behind a dark gray cloud, like it even couldn't stand to be around him. One after another a grey cloud appeared as he continued to watch the sky, covering the beautiful blue with threats of storm or worse. He stared hard at the cloud covering the sky and sunk his teeth down into his tongue, tasting the blood. A crack of lightening suddenly could be heard, adding to the warning of bad weather.

Charlie just stayed there though, in a sort of trance, all bad thoughts of Locke coming to mind. How could Locke help him and then leave him, like some sort of a fool? How could he, in a way, betray him and cause him so much pain? Letting go of his tongue from between his teeth, he opened his mouth, a few words coming from his dry lips. He hadn't prayed in God knows how long, but he thought this time was suiting.

"Lord... please... please help. I know... I know I've been a sinner, I know I've been bad- but please help me. Help me seek revenge. Help me, please?"

As he prayed, he let the desperation he had been feeling pour over him and travel to the Lord above. His tone of voice was soft and low, reflecting the need in his heart. He needed it so badly, so badly for this to work. Finally, he ended and crossed himself, lifting a hand up to the heavens as if to thank God for listening to him.

After this, he felt drained from letting all the emotions out with the short prayer, and slumped over in a restless sleep.

_Fires upon fires leaped up all over the island, burning and forcing it's inhabitants to flee to the ocean. Person after person jumped in, every one of them with handcuffs around their wrists. But, before each of them began to swim for safety, Locke appeared to unlock their wrists and set them free. He stood there, an all-knowing grin on his face, poking a golden key into handcuff after handcuff, seeing to it that all were safe. The people, once free, swam like mad, until all of them were mere dots in the distance. Where they went, would never know, but at least they wouldn't burn for all eternity here. _

_Charlie watched Locke in the distance, hiding behind a tree as he grimaced, hoping Locke would unbind him. The handcuffs caused his wrists to grow raw and bleed, chaffing and hurting like the Devil. He tried to let himself free a number of ways before: jumping on the chain while squatting down, sawing through it with a knife, kicking it- but nothing helped. He would be a captive until Locke helped him, and he feared that would never happen. _

_Creeping closer, he saw Claire walk up to Locke, waving him down with a girlish giggle. She took a place beside him, whispering kind and motherly words of advice to those who were about to take to the sea. They both continued this endless process until only one person was left, Charlie. _

_He still hid beside a tree, but knew they would come for him, so he began to run for the shore. _

_"Locke, hey... could I...?" he began, holding out his hands to the bald man once he reached them. _

_Locke shook his head, giving Claire a "I told you so" look before explaining his reasoning. _

_"I tried helping you, but you didn't listen; so I'm leaving you here to burn," Locke said, nudging Claire with his elbow to cue her to speak as well. She glanced over at Charlie pitifully before speaking, her eyes glued to the sand in front of his feet. _

_"He's right Charlie, you should just stay here." And with that, Claire turned to the ocean, diving headfirst into it. Locke put his fingers to his lips as Charlie began to speak again, not carrying about what he was about to say. _

_"Shh," Locke said, eyeing Charlie one last time before turning to disappear into the waves. Charlie opened his mouth to shout out, but nothing came out, his voice muted. He tried to shout at the top of his lungs, tears of frustration streaming down his face, but to no avail. He was doomed. _

Charlie awoke from his nightmare in a freezing sweat, shivers racing down his spine despite the heat. He gasped for air, his lungs straining for the much-needed oxygen, and noticed that he was no longer alone. He tilted his head, trying to see who it was, and sighed in relief. No need to flee now, he wanted to talk to this person.

Sitting in a plane seat he had stolen weeks ago from the plane, Sawyer lounged lazily, sunglasses perched on his nose. He looked like a professional bum there on his seat, his hands and arms up behind his head to prop him up.

"You okay there Checkers? You look like you saw the boogie man," Sawyer said with a laugh, shaking his head. He wore the same checkered shirt he had been wearing hours ago, looking strangely handsome in the fading light.

"Yeah, I'm fine… I was just..," he mumbled, sitting up. Raising an eyebrow, Charlie suddenly noticed that he must have been sleeping for hours, for the sun dipped slightly below the ocean's surface in the distance. The sun, a beautiful dark red color, still emitted rays of fading heat to the island, not ready to disappear for the evening quite yet. The sky around the sun was light up with an array of colors, streaks of orange, pink and even a little bit of blue still.

"Just takin' your scheduled nap for the day Checkers? I understand, I was just gettin' done with mine myself- so you're in luck," Sawyer said in response, giving Charlie a thumbs up sign. Standing up, the other man streched before pulling his chair closer, obviously not wanting to give up his seat at the moment.

"Heh. So, you gonna tell me the plan," Charlie asked, brushing off the sand which had accumulated on him while sleeping.

"Yep," Sawyer said, taking his sunglasses off. The sun sank ever lower as the two sat in momentary silence, still as red as ever.

"So...," Charlie whispered, growing impatient with the wait. He had been waiting all the day, so he wasn't about to wait any longer.

"So listen here Checkers, I'm about to tell you somethin' you probably won't wanna do- but it's the only way this here will work," the southerner began, his eyes focused on Charlie's right now. He sat up in his chair, kicking off his sandals so he was barefoot now.

"..." Charlie said nothing in reply to that, already wondering what it was that Sawyer _thought _he didn't want to do. Boy, he was ready to do just about anything to get revenge on that bastard.

"It's a fairly simple little plan, but it involves you doin' some mighty big dirty work. You're going to be the distraction while I," he said, his famous smirk reappearing on his face, "will go and retrieve the ammo in the holy hatch."

"Dirty work? What do you mean dirty work," Charlie asked, standing up to sit on the bottom of the sandy dune. To hell with trying to get the sand off anymore, he would deal with the mess on his clothes later.

"I mean you're gonna have to get rid of that halo that you try to wear and let your real horns show. Look, this will be a cinch if you don't dwell on it, but it'll be hell if ya do. Just follow my advice and you'll be good to go," Sawyer warned, standing up to sit beside Charlie now.

"Okay, just tell me what I have to do," Charlie said impatiently, wanting for the other to just get on with it. What was going to be so bad about it?

"You gotta pick a victim first, but I have someone already in mind- cause I'm in expert with these sorts of things," Sawyer answered with a playful wink, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

"A victim? What the hell do you want me to do- kill someone? I'm not a bloody murderer," Charlie almost yelled back, not liking the sound of this at all. He just wanted to get revenge on Locke, not involve anyone else!

"Calm down there Chuckles. That's not what I said. You just gotta… injure someone, not too badly of course, cause ol' Doc might have a cow and send the Island Police into the jungle. Just get it to where the person is hurt enough to where it isn't just a broken nail. Get my drift," the southerner asked, the last beams of sunlight of the day casting a shadow on his face.

"But I don't want to hurt anyone Sawyer! This isn't about other people, I just want to get back at Locke," Charlie said, looking at Sawyer like he was insane.

"I know you don't wanna hurt other people, but there's a price to this kinda revenge Checkers. Look, if it makes ya feel any better, my hands are pretty dirty with sins from the past too- so we'll be sinners together," Sawyer said with a chuckle at the end, reaching over to give Charlie a sound pat on the back.

Charlie narrowed his eyes, glaring at Sawyer now, but realized that he had a point. He knew there was a price of revenge.. but would he be willing to pay that high of a price?

"So when the victim is hurt, everyone will be so worried over that person, that I'll be able to sneak in no problem. It'll be a piece of cake for me after you do that." Sawyer nodded to himself and Charlie, picturing the scene now in his head. He wouldn't even have to pretend to be on hatch duty, he'd just waltz in and take em'.

"Isn't there any other way we can distract besides hurting someone," Charlie asked, really wanting to pay some sort of _other _price for revenge.

"What, you don't like my plan Checkers? Hey, if you don't, you can just say so now and I'll be on my way," Sawyer stated simply, giving Charlie the option of backing out now.

"No… I didn't say that. I just... fine, I'll do it," he suddenly agreed, surprised at himself for being so quick to change his mind. Somehow the revenge was more important than someone's health right now... and that should have scared him. But it didn't anymore. All those worries of endangering someone else's life faded to the background when he thought of how Locke hurt him so, and he decided to just go with the flow.

"Alrighty then. I got someone in mind, but I want to see who you pick first," Sawyer said, curiosity aflame in his eyes.

Charlie shrugged, not knowing who he would pick, but knew he had to pick someone. Who would he be willing to hurt for his plan?


	7. Chapter 6::LEAF

_Agh, damn lack of motivation! But, here is my chapter (finally!). I hope to have this fic wrapped up by at least Monday, so stay tuned! _

Charlie sat there beside Sawyer for a few more seconds before coming up with an answer, his mind fumbling for a person. It couldn't be Sayid, Kate, or Jack… couldn't be Locke, because he was already gettin' it. He closed his eyes, and suddenly pictured the person he would set up as the decoy.

"I got it," he said, a mental light bulb shining in his head. He turned to Sawyer, a grim look on his face.

"So who is it Chuckie," Sawyer asked, going back to sit on his thrown. He sat down on the slightly torn cushion of the plane seat, crossing one leg over the other.

"I'm not tellin' Sawyer," he said, determined not to even verbalize that person's name. If he said that person's name out loud, he knew that he would somehow talk himself out of it. Better to just do it than talk of it.

"And why's that? Afraid I'm gonna tattle tell," the southerner asked back, his head cocked to the side in it's usual fashion. But, Sawyer didn't wait for Charlie to answer, figuring that the other had his reasons for not saying.

"Suit yourself Checkers." Sawyer leaned his head back against the top of the chair, as if he was going to drift off into sleep. He closed his eyes, but looked back at Charlie one final time.

"Since this is your deal, it's your call when we're gonna do it... but if I were you, I'd do it tomorrow," Sawyer suggested, secretly wanting to plant his own revenge on Locke and Jack as soon as possible. He probably wouldn't have ever even bothered to try to acquire the guns if it weren't for Charlie, but now he had a reason. Well, that and he just wanted to have the guns in his own safekeeping.

"Tomorrow? That's so soon..." Charlie glanced back up at Sawyer, climbing up the sandy hill to perch himself higher up on it. From there, he could see the top of the person's tent that he would soon hurt, and it almost burned to look. The said person must have been asleep, because he didn't see em, but it still hurt to even look. So he didn't, refocusing his attention on the top of a short tree at the edge of the jungle. The jungle's sort of cheerful greenery seemed to fade to the background now that the sun wasn't out, transforming into a more dark, dreary place. He just stared at that one spot, wondering if he should go on with the plan so quickly.

Sawyer nodded an eager look on his face now at the mention of "soon."

"Yep, sooner I get them guns, the sooner ol' Locke will be sorry," he stated, knowing that would trigger Charlie into wanting, it too. Hey, he had to persuade the other somehow, and if that meant having to tap into Charlie's emotions to do so, he sure as hell would.

"...Alright. I'll do it tomorrow morning... and then you can do your thing," Charlie replied back, guessing it would be better to get it over with than brood about it. Besides, like Sawyer had mentioned, the sooner he had this out of the way, the sooner Locke would feel like the biggest moron on this planet.

"Right-o Checkers. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a hot date with my pillow," Sawyer said, winking at Charlie as he made his way back to his tent.

"Wait," Charlie shouted, standing up now. "How will I know when you have the guns," he asked, wanting to know for sure when it would all be over with.

"Oh, you'll know," Sawyer said vaguely, turning back around to face Charlie. He gave Charlie one of his mischievous dimple grins before exiting for good, playfully saluting the other before heading off.

As soon as Charlie saw that Sawyer was no longer in earshot, he let out a big sigh, sliding back down his hill to sit at the bottom again. Raising his head to the sky, he noticed the stars coming out already, twinkling and shining dimly. They slowly began to dot every speck of the horizon, covering even the most open spaces of sky with their beauty. But, the site of the wonderful lights in the sky seemed to darken his mood even further, reminding him of what crime he would have to commit for revenge.

That was it, wasn't it? He would have to commit a crime for a crime that had been done against him. Musing, he remembered back to the days when his dear old mum made Liam and him attend Sunday School. Being a little boy, he really hadn't paid that much attention to the Sunday School teacher, but he definitely recalled the old "eye for an eye" adage. It did indeed apply to this situation, so it must mean something that he even thought of that.

Combing his fingers through his greasy hair, he sat up, his attention caught by the glimmering of a very bright star. It stood out far more than any other star in the sky, outshining the others by a long shot. Next to that one star, the other stars looked almost ugly. He let that one star hold his attention for quite a long time, zoning in and out of his thoughts. The star mesmerized him, and even gave him a bit of a tingle of something. Strangely enough, that tingle wasn't anything positive either. It was a tingle of pain, pain from realizing the horror in what he was about to do. The pain that came when one saw something so beautiful, that one was taken aback by how very hideous one really was.

Looking away from the star now, he had to blink rapidly, tears from staring so long and hard, wetting his eyes. He wiped them away though, still awestruck by the star, and stood up. If he was going to be trying to come up with his crime, he needed to be moving.

Walking away from his sand dune, he found a spot where no one in at least a thirty-foot radius was, and sat back down. He wanted to think of a good enough plan to actually work, but what? He certainly didn't want to hurt this person too badly, but… how would he do that? And how would he know what too badly was? Shaking his head, he picked up a seashell, like he was looking to it for advice. But of course the seashell didn't do anything to help, and Charlie became frustrated with it and chunked it into the ocean. He heard it splash, sending thousands of tiny ripples in that one spot, and was suddenly reminded of something.

That was it!

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Meanwhile, Sawyer, back in his tent now, wondered if ol' Checkers picked the same person as he did in his head. He laid back against one of those cheap airplane pillows, grumbling to himself at how damn flat they were. Sitting up briefly to try and fluff it up, he hit it against a suitcase for a few seconds, hoping to get it fluffy enough. Finally, he set it back down, satisfied at the pillow- well, enough to sleep on it.

Setting his head back on it, he started to close his eyes, but remembered he couldn't get to guns tomorrow morning without the combination.

_Sonuvabitch. _Knowing that he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, he sat back up, looking around his tent. His eyes came across the box of cigarettes he had opened earlier that day, and he smirked to himself. If that was one thing he could rely on, it was that those damn cigarettes would be in the same place he put them. Not that they would walk off anywhere by themselves, but he figured if anyone or any _boar_ was going to steal something, it certainly wouldn't be that.

Picking up the cigarette, he found a lighter and lit it, taking a long drag. He exhaled, watching the smoke leave his lips, and sat there thinking. Going down to the hatch and sneaking in would be a piece of cake for him, but getting the combination- now that was another story. Inhaling again, he figured that Jack or Locke would need something eventually from the locked room, but when was the question. He could easily secure a hiding place however, and if need be he would stake out there for the night.

Crushing the end of the cigarette into the sand, he began to pack a couple of books into his backpack. Yeah, he sure as hell wasn't going to be bored while he was done there. Done with the packing, he stood up, hoisting the bag over his shoulder. He peeked out of his tent, looking round to make sure none were up, and sighed in a satisfied manner as he found that none were.

The beach was absolutely silent as he headed into the jungle to the hatch, giving him the opportunity to take his sweet time walking. No one would be awake for at least six to seven hours, so he might as well take it easy. He strolled along, humming a song under his voice. Coming to the path which lead him to the hatch, he started to mentally commend himself for being so clever with coming up with the idea of getting the guns, when he saw a figure come into his path.

"What are you doing," the person said, obviously not amused with seeing Sawyer there.


	8. Chapter 7::FLOWER

_I am such a procrastinator! Urgh. Anyway, last night I was working on this, but it just wasn't coming at all. I don't know what it was, probably some sort of writer's block. Apologies for promises made to have it before, I guess I should stop making promises then lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. _

"Goin' down to the hatch," Sawyer said in response, giving Sayid as friendly of a smile as he could muster right then.

"Down to the hatch? What for," Sayid asked, raising an eyebrow. He could have sworn that Sawyer wasn't on the list for hatch duty until tomorrow.

"Gonna question me all night there? For a book," the southerner said, wanting Sayid to have the answer he searched for and leave him be.

"Oh really. Which one," Sayid asked, disbelief in his brown eyes.

"_Watership Down_. Why, you wanna read it Mohammed? I have to warn ya, I have a new lending policy. It's a week without fees, but after that- it's two mangos a day for everyday you don't return it," he joked, grinning down at the other.

"No thanks," Sayid replied with a smirk, rolling his eyes at him. He decided that Sawyer was probably telling the truth, so he let him off the hook, stepping out of his way.

"And a goodbye to you too sunshine," Sawyer called back out to him as the other left, shaking his head. He was damn lucky that it had just been Sayid and not Jack or Locke. Watching Sayid disappear into the jungle again, Sawyer turned back around, almost to the hatch.

From where he was, he could see a few birds sitting up in their nests, obviously trying to sleep the night away. Peering up up at them, Sawyer decided to have a better look, walking right up to the tree. The tree was definitely an old one, probably as big around as a Volkswagon Beetle, and at least a hundred feet tall. The birds sat on a branch that seemed to be about ten feet above ground level, so that it was only about four feet above the top of Sawyer's head.

Tilting his head up further, he saw one of the birds shake it's tail feather and glance down at him, letting out a relatively quiet caw. He chuckled to himself, now intent on getting closer to the birds. Lowering his head back to ground level, he tried to find something to raise himself up a bit higher. His eyes led him to a jaggedly shaped rock on the ground, and he smiled. _Bingo. _Going over to it, he picked it up with ease, guessing that it only weighed about ten pounds.

He set it down on the ground, tentatively placing a foot on it to see if it would hold his weight. Finding that it did, he pushed it over to the edge of the tree, stopping it right in front of a root. He stepped up onto it and saw that he was about two feet short of being able to be at eye level with the birds. Frowning, he wondered how in the world he'd be able to do that, but suddenly noticed a branch. It hung there, in the corner of his eye, and he turned to face it. It didn't appear very stable, not for grabbing onto at least, but Sawyer could care less.

Reaching up, he held onto it with both of his hands, and managed to pull himself up another foot. With a grunt, he swiped above his head to try for another go, and this time was successful. Two birds chirped angrily as he blindly groped for one, finally managed to trap one. Bringing it down, he hopped down off of the rock and shushed the bird, not wanting anyone to hear it being so loud.

"Shhh lil' fellow, I ain't gonna hurtcha," he whispered to the bird with a chuckle. Bird in hand, he continued down into the jungle until he reached the hatch. He glanced down at it, giving his surroundings a once over before opening it up.

It was slightly difficult trying to open a hatch with a bird in hand, but he managed to do it, swinging it open with a grunt. Because of the extra noise the bird made with the loud sound, Sawyer almost decided to let go of it, but didn't- having a better plan for it.

"Now, Sawyer's got a big job for you, can ya handle it," he asked it quietly, smirking as it stopped struggling. Raising an eyebrow, he opened his hand further, to make sure the damn thing was breathing and found that it was. With a sigh, he climbed down into the hatch. It was quieter than normal in the metal enclosed area and hot as hell. Not remembering it ever being that humid, the southerner began to sweat profusely, the salty liquid running down his back. He reached up to wipe a sweat droplet off of his face, and snuck into the main room.

Thinking himself to be home free, Sawyer started walking quickly towards the desk with the computer, but halted suddenly. There at the desk was none other than the man Charlie wanted revenge so badly against, Locke. Biting his tongue, Sawyer ducked behind a random box, hoping that Locke was the only around. But unfortunately for him, as soon as he thought that, he could hear a familiar voice coming from the other room.

"Locke, I'm going to go take a shower," a voice said, calling to the other from the "medic" area.

"Okay Jack, but don't be too long," Locke replied, going back to a piece of paper he was staring at in front of him. Sawyer couldn't quite make out what it was on the piece of paper, but he knew he didn't matter and quite trying.

"Locke, I think you can manage to push the buttons by yourself if I'm not back in time," Jack said in response, now in the main room with Locke. With a hand on his hip, Jack approached the table which Locke was sitting at and peered down at that same piece of paper.

"Whatcha got there Locke," he asked, his eyes narrowed in suspision.

"Oh, nothing. Just trying to keep myself occupied," Locke replied with one of his creepier smiles, looking back up at Jack. Jack shrugged and left the room, wanting to hurry up and take that shower already.

Sawyer just sat crouched quietly behind the box as the two interacted, waiting for Jack to leave the room. Seeing that he did, he waited for what seemed like hours for the right moment to do what he was going to, and finally found it.

Locke stood up and stretched, seeing that the timer didn't go off for another five minutes, and left to go into another one of the hatch's rooms. To make sure Locke stayed in the other room for at least a couple more minutes, Sawyer quietly creeped to where he was almost where Locke was, and gave the bird (still in his hand) a small pat on the head.

"Make me proud lil' fellow," he said almost inaudibly to the other, letting it go. The bird, very happy to be set free from Sawyer's grasp, began to sing and fly around in big circles next to Locke, as if it really knew what Sawyer wanted. Sawyer waited to see Locke's reaction, wanting it to be the one he was hoping for.

Just as he thought, Locke was surprised but strangely amused by the bird, watching it with his probing eyes.

"Well hello there. What are you doing in here," Locke asked the bird, caught off guard by a sudden swoop the bird made in front of his face. The bird proceeded to do several loop-de-loops around Locke, prompting Locke to chase it out. But, Locke didn't quite have the reaction Sawyer wanted, and just stood there. He then started to whistle at the bird, holding his hands out to see if the bird would come down, but the bird had other plans. It flew up to sit on one of the shelves in the hatch, making it self at home right at the top.

Locke shook his head, laughing to himself, and went for the ladder in the corner of the room. Seeing that now was his chance, Sawyer ran into the other room, going to the desk Locke was just sitting at.

"Come on, come on," Sawyer whispered to himself, rummaging through the stacks of papers on the desk. "I know you're here somewhere dammit." He continued to search, knowing that he really didn't have very much time to find it. Flipping through a notebook, he wondered if it was there, but sighed as it wasn't. Frustrated, he felt as though he really wasn't going to find it in time, now down to the last paper. Eyes scanning it quickly, he shoved the paper into his pocket, not sure if that was it- but not wanting to get caught either.

Stacking the papers up as neatly as he imagined he found them, Sawyer started to head off to leave the hatch, when Locke reentered the room.

"Jack, is that you," Locke asked, seeing that there was a figure sitting at the desk. He couldn't see if it was Jack or not, because the person wasn't facing him, but he figured it was.

"..." Sawyer stood perfectly still, not making a move. God dammit, he should have come before. Now he was really screwed. He sat there for what seemed like two eternities before he heard movement. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the bird had managed to set itself free from Locke's grip, and now flew back into the other room.

"Hey, we have a bird in here Jack- but I'll go take care of it," Locke said, thinking that the silence did mean that it was Jack. The bald man went back to the other part of the hatch, trying to figure out a way to catch the bird other than with his hand.

"Shit, that was close," Sawyer whispered to himself, thanking his lucky stars that Locke didn't expect him to answer. Standing up, he quickly yanked the paper out of his pocket, not wanting them to find out that it was gone. Well, if that paper was the right one. Looking down at it, he saw that it was and smiled. Silently memorizing the numbers on the paper, he uncrumpled as best as he could and set it back down on the table.

_9 14 56 87 23 58 _

Sawyer said the numbers to himself in his head over and over again, intent on not forgetting them. Sure that he had them done, he hurriedly left the hatch, his heart pounding like crazy. As soon as he was out of it, he let out a low whoop, happy with himself for doing the deed. Since he had a distraction tomorrow, thanks to good ol' Charlie boy, he didn't have to retrieve the guns right then and there.

Sitting down under a tree, Sawyer leaned his head back and wondered if Charlie had formulated a plan yet.


	9. Chapter 8::BLOOM

_IT FINALLY WORKS! Okay, here's the story kids: over 2 weeks, one day I came home to find that my laptop didn't want to turn on. 2 weeks later, awesome guy discovers that it isn't the motherboard (there is a God) but instead the IC (integrated circuit). It didn't cost as much as I thought, so yay. Anyway, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update since then. I even tried updating earlier today when I finished this chapter, but the document manager was screwing up. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though! Please R&R! _

As Sawyer started towards the hatch to find out the combination to the door, Charlie sat next to the shoreline, his eyes widening from the birth of an idea which would help him do what he wanted to do.

The seashell's splashing and disturbing of the ocean's peaceful sleep reminded him of a certain person's garden. The ocean water flickered and shined under the fading moonlight, causing Charlie to grimace with pain from the irony of it all. Although the night appeared beautiful, peaceful and almost innocent, it wasn't for Charlie. Everything from the way the seashell plopped down to the sand to the way the sky's stars glimmered with magnificence offset the nature of his plan. His plan tainted everything in his mind, but all else remained unscathed.

Sighing, he cupped his face in his hands, the stubble on his face contrasting greatly with his past clean-shaven look. On the island he had never been clean-shaven, but before- before all the _mess _happened with Claire, he had shaved his face. Now the stubble had begun to grow back full force, like a bad habit come clean. He had never dreamed that he would be deceiving a person who cared about again, but he was going to. All for revenge.

Glancing about, still paranoid that someone would come upon him, Charlie made sure no one would interrupt his scheming time. In his mind, he pictured the person's garden, beautiful and untouched by the hands of sinners. He recalled all the times he had come across it while coming back from the jungle, admiring its purity and fresh aura around it. If he came across the garden, he felt his spirits raise and touch the sky, peeking beyond the heavens itself. Something about it, something about the way in which life could still start afresh from a place which caused so much pain... struck Charlie as wonderful. And yet, he had to destroy its beauty by hurting the very person who created it.

With his hands still on his face, he closed his eyes, picturing the person who owned the garden. Her sweet smile, her caring voice, both of these qualities about him struck him first. Thinking back, he remembered when she labored over Boone's dying body with Jack, facing a fear of another's death with a bright, strong courage. She stood with Jack, for God knows how long, through the hours of the night, helping with whatever she possibly could. Besides Boone, she had done countless other selfless things, such as fetch out plants in which she knew would help other's minor illnesses. She was a brave woman, braver than Charlie could ever dream to be.

This, these characteristics- he had grown to admire in her. Seeing her from day to day, he picked up little things about her that he only wished he had. But alas, he had to strike it down. Now, under these dire circumstances created in his distraught mind, he needed to use her as a sacrifice. He needed to hurt her, to pick her away like a fly from a piece of meat that he wanted to sink his teeth into. The meat of revenge was Charlie's highest priority right now, to taste its sweetness. Revenge, in all it's ways, had a tendency to surge through the person it possessed, causing them to think in ways which normally they dared not to. It tempted him to do things in which he hated to, yet he would. All for that one, deliciously sweet taste.

After the memories of her came and went, Charlie stood up, still drawing out a rough sketch of the plan for tomorrow morning in his mind. If he was going to go through with it, he needed tools. But what? Walking a few feet away from his previous spot, he suddenly heard a sound. Turning around quickly, he saw a person in the distance coming towards him, giving him a wave to signal him to stop.

_Shit. _

Instead of stopping, he started to run in the opposite direction as fast as he could, knowing who it was. It was her. She wanted to talk to him for God knows only reason, and he wouldn't have it. Not with knowing what he was going to do to her in the back of his mind. How could he face her, with his mind filled with deception and greed for revenge? How he could, when he just sat there thinking about how well he thought of her character, how he wished he could be half the person she was. Pulling his hoody up over his head, he hoped the darkness would conceal his blond hair in the disappearing light. He picked up his speed, heading for a rock he noticed in the distance.

The rock stood only inches away from the ocean, at least fifteen feet tall and thirty feet in diameter. It was more like a mountain than a rock, except that it was rocky all over and had no greenery whatsoever. Biting his lip, he headed towards it, hoping to hide behind one of it's many nooks and crannies. If he could just hide like that, maybe she would give up and leave him be. He did a quick one-eighty before even attempting to climb it, hoping that no one followed him still. Letting out a relieved sigh, he saw no one on the horizon coming towards him anymore, and decided to go up on the rock anyway.

Pulling down his hoodie, he rubbed his hands together before trying to climb, pumping himself up for it. It wasn't that he had a fear of heights to say, but he wasn't a very good rock climber. In the past, he had once tried rock climbing and nearly died- thankfully saved by the safety rope. He pushed aside his hesitations and grabbed a wedge of rock that stuck out, giving it a test pull to see if it would truly hold him. It didn't budge, to his relief, and he moved his foot up to prop himself up against the rock. Finding a small indentation, he fit his foot into it, seeing that he indeed wasn't going to fall from that position. He pulled his other foot up to another gap in the rock, peering up to see how far he had to go.

He hadn't really begun his journey upward, but he still wanted to look up. The top of the rock seemed to be leering down at him from his spot, sizing him up every second he stood flat against it. Taking a deep breath, he started climbing slowly upwards, trying hard not to think if he fell. Ah well, it was only... fifteen feet up, if he even made it to the top- that wouldn't kill him, right? He shook his head, trying to dismiss the anxiety he had about falling, and concentrated on the climb up.

One foot up, another foot up. One hand up, another hand up. Like this, it took him a good fifteen minutes to make his way even close to the top, now about six feet away. He mentally pushed himself on, telling himself how great it would be once he finally reached his destination. This pattern of going up continued for about three more minutes until he nearly reached the top, his hand touching the top of the rock. Now, to somehow pull himself up onto the-

"Charlie," a small voice called out from below, calling out to him in tone of voice that sounded both concerned and confused all at the same time.

As soon as he heard his name, Charlie gasped, badly surprised from the voice, and let go of his strong hold. The hand which lay flat on the top of the rock swung out wildly, and the other hand nearly lost it's grip as well. Gasping, he thought he would fall for sure, hanging onto the rock with only one hand- his feet scraping to keep still.

"Do you need help," the voice asked again, as if it was willing to go up and help him.

"No.. no... I'm fine, just fine," he called back, not wanting to seem like a complete idiot. He mentally chastised himself for being such a fool in front of someone else, not wanting to look like a big idiot. No, he would get himself out of this one by himself with no help. Recognizing the voice, he glanced down, a tingle of guilt starting to surge from his heart all over his body. He narrowed his eyes in sadness, trying hard not to think about it. It's just a job, it's just a job.

"Are you sure," she called back, one hand on her hip as she watched him struggle with staying on.

"Yeah! I'm just-," he started to call back, before his foot started to falter as well. Scrambling for a foothold again, he blindly hit the rock's surface with his foot, trying to find it again. Not finding it, he wondered if he would indeed make it to the top or not. But, before he tried to find the foot hold again, he peered down at her once more- giving himself a hard dose of self punishment again.

Seeing her eyes look up at him with such care, he was struck with a sense of loss all at once, as if tomorrow morning was happening right then. The shock of staring right into her eyes caused him to loose grasp of the rock completely, falling from the rock to the sand.

The fall was not a long one, since it was only fifteen feet, but it felt even shorter since he knew what waited for him at the bottom. Landing on the sand with a padded thud sound, he winced, hitting the usually comfortable surface backside down. Sun rushed over to him, leaning down to see if he was alright.

"Are you okay Charlie," she asked, giving one a once look over to see if any harm had been done.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, just fine," he half mumbled back, shame rushing over him like fast, hard hitting ocean waves in a storm at sea. He started to stand back up when she put a hand on him, telling him not to stand just yet.

"Do you need any help getting up," she asked kindly, a sheepish look on her face. She had no idea why he tried to get on the rock in the first place, but at least it appeared as though no bones were broken.

"No, I'm fine- really," he insisted, wanting her to go away as soon as possible. The sooner she left, the sooner he could just forget this little run into had ever happened. He stood up, even though she shook her head for him not to, and brushed himself off. Sand covered his entire backside, and started to wipe it off with one hand, getting sand all over his hoodie. He could care less though, just wanting to flee the situation.

"What were you doing up there," she asked with a sheepish half smile, wanting to know. Could it be he just wanted to meditate by himself?

"Oh, no real reason- just wanted to sit up there and.… look at the stars," he lied, forcing a goofy grin on his face. It hurt to grin at her so, making him think of the pain she would have to endure for his own selfish revenge. But he had no choice, no choice.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm going back to sleep. Good night Charlie," Sun said with a smile, giving him a wave before heading off in the opposite direction. Charlie let out a sigh of relief as she made her way back, giving the rock one last look. His eyes rested on the top of the rock, trying to figure out why he couldn't make it up. Any other day he would have been able to climb it... but today, he just failed. As he stared at the rock, it seemed to grow in size, like it wanted to tell Charlie that it was too big of a challenge for him. Shaking his head, he turned back around, pulling his hoodie off.

He threw it to the ground, disgusted with both himself and the world. How could things end up this way? He had to hurt an innocent for his own revenge, because of one stupid man? Growling quietly, he pictured Locke in his mind, pushing away the regretful, sad thoughts he had when thinking of Sun. Hurting Locke was the only thing that mattered, making him pay for the crimes he committed that horrid night. Once that was done, Charlie would feel free of this guilt- or hoped he would. Of course right, how could he not? Once he had his payback, things would go back to normal.

Thinking now of only causing Locke pain, Charlie smiled devilishly, keeping the picture of an embarrassed, stupefied Locke in his mind. Only a bit longer until sweet, sweet revenge. Slumping down, he decided to just sleep out in the open for the night, knowing that his biological clock would awaken him in time. Normally, pre-Island, he really didn't have a biological clock- but under these circumstances, he was forced to have one. Leaving his hoodie laying in the sand, he curled up in a ball, like an animal out in the wild. It was time to sleep, to cleanse the mind- if only for a few hours.


End file.
